Who is Nadhim Zahawi? All you need to know about UK’s new finance minister

Here’s what you need to know about Nadhim Zahawi:

• Iraqi-born education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, was appointed as finance minister by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson late on Tuesday following the shock resignation of Rishi Sunak.
• The Queen Elizabeth II has approved the appointment of the former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi in his new position, the Downing Street said.
• Nadhim Zahawi came to Britain as a child with his Kurdish family and did not speak any English. He forged a lucrative business career in United Kingdom.
• 55-year-old Nadhim Zahawi co-founded the prominent polling company YouGov and was active in local Conservative politics in London, before becoming an MP in 2010, according to AFP report.
• Nadhim Zahawi also gained widespread credit for overseeing Britain’s pandemic vaccines rollout.
• Interestingly, like Rishi Sunak, Zahawi’s private wealth has drawn adverse attention, including when he claimed parliamentary expenses for heating his horse stables in 2013.
• Nadhim Zahawi has reportedly refused to comment on whether he will uphold Sunak’s pleas for fiscal discipline against Johnson’s free-spending instincts, according to AFP report.
• Notably, the British Prime Minister named another loyalist, Michelle Donelan, to take Nadhim Zahawi’s place at the education ministry.

Nadhim Zahawi’s appointment comes following the Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid tendered their resignations within minutes of each other, possibly costing the British Prime Minister the support of the men responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain — the cost-of-living crisis and surging Covid-19 infections. Both ministers referred to the British PM’s credibility after a day in which the prime minister was forced to backtrack on earlier statements about the scandal that has rattled his government for the past six days, according to PTI report.

(With inputs from AFP, PTI)

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